Phantom Shell
by Dark Domination
Summary: She was all he had left and he would do anything to make sure she stayed safe and well... even if it meant he had to become a criminal to do so. Yet, she was the only thing keeping him from falling in too deep in this dark rabbit hole he found himself in.
1. Chapter 1

Phantom Shell

Prologue

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(TGX) Oh My Literal God DDoms! You have WAY to many stories on your plate to even THINK about adding another one! You've gone mad!

(DDoms ) I...I cant stop stop stop stop!

Yes I know you all were probably expecting a new chapter of White Devil but THIS...This fic idea would NOT leave me be. It tormented me when I tried to sleep, it pestered me as I ate, it teased me while I was on the shower... Not like that you perverted sickos! Anyway it basically would not leave me alone so I pumped this baby out and now I can actually focus on White devil. However, at the moment, since I know I have too much on my plate with working on DBZ:Changes(with my best bud TGX) Fallen Hero rewrite and Script of the White Devil, I will not be coming out with a new chapter for this for some time. Instead I am, for now, leaving it as a challenge for any of you who want to take a crack at it. If you are interested, PM me. I will leave the base guidelines at the bottom of the chapter. But once I have finished either SotWD or FH I will come back to this and complete it as well.

Also I won't be updating next month for reasons that are atm personal information(and the hectic holiday that is Christmas). But I will resume regular monthly updates come January.

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He walked among the ruins of his former hometown taking in the sights of what remained. Buildings had long since crumbled and those that still stood were merely shells of what they once were, just like him. He stopped; his light blue flaming hair and tattered white cape fluttered as a gust of wind blew through the abandoned street as he closed his red eyes and took in a deep breath and breathed in the scent of the stale contaminated air, stained with the scent of the fires that had long since passed. He didn't know why he came back here. He had just finished his year training trip to the Ghost Zone to further advance his ghostly powers and was on his way back to his mentor. He had no really reason for coming back other than it was on the way and tried his best to avoid this place yet he still found himself back here, back in Amity Park. He knew his old former friends and family, what was left of it, wouldn't approve of what he had become but he didn't care as he was more than willing to do whatever it took to take care of his older sister. He didn't care if she would hate him for what he had done if...no, not if, when she recovered from her coma. But he had needed money to keep her in the hospital, to keep her healthy and alive. Money he didn't have at the time, money he had to either steal or earn through other means of criminal activity. He didn't care if he was viewed as a thief or a villain; so as long as he was able to keep her alive he would do anything it took, even if it meant falling down this spiral of darkness. He opened his eyes and narrowed his gaze into a glare as they fell upon a familiar old busted up neon sign, the large 'f' flickering dimly.

It had been his fault, the entire accident had been, or at least that's what he used to tell himself. He had wanted to blame himself for it all, to burden the blame. In all honesty though, it was more of an accident as his parents worked on their inventions so that their ghost technology would no longer go off around him but it had ended up backfiring horribly. It was here he had blamed himself at first. The only reason it had backfired in the first place was due to his arrival through the Fenton Ghost Portal. Not a big deal most days but normally, he left the portal open when he went into the Ghost Zone to avoid the alarms going off when he returned. The reason as to why he was in the Ghost Zone was quite simple really. He was returning from giving Clockwork a rather powerful artifact in the form of the Reality Gauntlet. At first he was going to destroy the thing but he as he was about to destroy the gaudy arm piece his mother stopped him. She had asked him to think about what would happen if he destroyed such a powerful artifact. 'What if it released a powerful reality warping explosion' she had asked? But he knew he couldn't just keep the thing. It wasn't safe. He decided he only had one option that felt safe enough and that was to take it to Clockwork.

But anyway, his parents had closed the portal when they had started working on their latest project. And upon his return, the alarms had distracted his parents, causing them to lose focus on their project if only briefly but it was enough for it to explode causing a chain reaction and caused a series of explosions until they reached the ectofilter disposal storage, which was where the filled volatile ectoplasm filters were stored, causing one final and massive explosion that ripped through the town, taking their lives and nearly taking his sister's life and leaving the town as it was now. Several were declared dead and those that survived were injured ranging from mild to crippling. Then there were those that were still missing.

Though there were those who had been out of town for summer vacation who had avoided the entire fiasco and had been forced to move in the aftermath, all the survivors were forced to move as the Guys in White had declared the city unsafe for the general public. The only reason Jazz had survived was because she had been on the outskirts of town on her way home from college out of state for summer break when the explosion went off sending her and her car careening off the road. She had been terribly wounded and had suffered from internal bleeding and several broken bones as well as several hairline fractures along her skull. She had to be placed on life support and after the worst had been healed she fell into a coma several days later after they had managed to fully stabilize her. He had tried to get help from Vlad but the man was far too depressed at the time too care. Even when he said he would accept the man's previous offer of being his apprentice/son, the man had merely glanced and him and told him to leave. Then again Vlad had lost the only woman he ever loved that day. Maddie, his mother, had been the older halfa's main driving force and now she was gone leaving the man content to wallow in his own depression for however long.

He felt the sensation of liquid falling down his face and brought his gloved hand to wipe the drop away from his cheek only to frown before clenching his fist in anger. He hadn't shed a tear since the incident three years ago! Why was he shedding them now?! He calmed down as he felt the cold sensation of rain drops hitting his light blue face and frowned as the rain began to dampen the pavement leaving the only sounds being rain hitting the ground and the sizzling of his hair evaporating the rain as it made contact. He stood there and looked up into the sky watching the rain as it fell down on him and once more closed his eyes as he remembered Sam and Tucker. His friends had been fortunate enough to be in the park on patrol when the aftershock of the blast hit them. The blast had temporarily crippled Sam when she had collided with a tree confining her to a wheelchair until the doctors could operate on her legs and hips. Tucker had fared better with only a few broken bones and some burns since he had opted to patrol the less woodened area of the park, it had better service for his PDA, which lead him to be the furthest from the blast and with less debris for him to be hit by or land into.

Of course when news finally got out at the cause of the explosion being the Fenton's fault, even if it was unintentional, caused their small fortune to be seized and used pay for compensation and assist with relocating the displaced citizens of Amity Park and help pay for the medical needs of the injured. The result left Danny and Jazz with barely enough to pay for their own hospital bills to get Jazz stable and safe and no one to help them with Tucker and Sam moving away with their parents, Sam to Europe and Tucker to Canada. It had been during this low point that things had gone from bad to worse when Jazz fell into a coma. Left with little money and with the new cost of keeping Jazz on life support until she would wake turned to be too much. The doctors had told him that if he couldn't pay for his sister's continued care that they would be forced to, albeit regrettably, take her off life support. With that knowledge and knowing that he had no real way of making money, being a 14 year old high school freshman at the time and part of the reason Amity Park was no longer livable, he resorted to the only thing he could do. He stole.

He had gone clear to the east coast and started robbing banks blind using his ghostly powers before making several separate accounts using his ability to overshadow various people and using them to wire money into different accounts before finally being wired to his families account giving him the money needed to continue to pay for his sisters care before once again wiring the money to another until it looped around once again to his families account to avoid suspicion. Of course, he didn't stay there too long as he had quickly fled to the west coast to continue his crime spree to avoid being caught or let authorities get any real clues. It was during one such robbery on the west coast that he had met his current mentor and master. Slade.

Slade had offered him the chance to get stronger and to help his sister in exchange for his loyalty and apprenticeship. How Slade knew about his sister he didn't know but it frightened him. Danny also knew that if he refused this dangerous man's offer, that Slade might do something to hurt Jazz. He knew who Slade was but he didn't care, he couldn't afford to care. He needed to keep his sister safe whatever the cost! So reluctantly, he accepted. As time went on though, he began to view Slade as an actual mentor and almost like a second father as the man taught him how to fight using various forms of martial arts, how to survive in the toughest of situations, battle tactics and taught him everything he knew. The man had Jazz transferred to a private facility with better medical equipment and to be a constant reminder and hidden threat. A means to keep him in line. That's not to say the man was nice or even kind. Slade was as cold as he was ruthless and settled for nothing less than perfection when they trained and punished failure with a very harsh hand. So for two years he trained and learned from the man. For two years he felt himself being corrupted by the man's dark influences. The only thing that never faded was his desire to protect his sister. It was that sole desire that kept him from falling too far into the darkness.

It was during the tail end of that second year that Danny discovered the ability to open ghost portals of his own. The new power offered a whole new realm of possibilities for him. He could actually enter the Ghost Zone now without trying to sneak into Vlad's for starters. It was with the discovery of that power that Danny approached Slade with his desire to strengthen his ghostly powers. It had been with great reluctance but Slade had allowed him to go but informed him he was to return in a years' time regardless of his progress or he couldn't promise Jazz's safety.

He let out a sigh as he felt the rain stop before he heard the sound of glass crunching underfoot and quickly looked to where it came from only to scowl when he saw a stray cat and snarled making the feline hightail it out of the area. He watched the cat flee before he caught his reflection upon the cracked glass of a broken down shop. Long gone was the wimpy, short and scrawny looking fourteen year old, instead, in his place was a well-toned, taller seventeen year old. His muscles had filled out, his shoulders broadened and his voice had deepened. The latter had left him conflicted as he sounded eerily like his future self. What had confused him the most for the longest time were the changes his ghost form went through. His skin had started growing paler and taking on a light blue hue yet not as blue like his future self or a full ghost, he started growing fangs and his tongue grew forked and his hair slowly change from spikey locks to flames. The whole process was so slow that he never noticed until the changes had already happened.

Long gone was the black hazmat suit that had made him an icon and in its place was a black spandex top with a white 'T' accent that spread out to his shoulders and down the center of his torso, his 'DP' emblem proudly displayed in the center of his chest with white gloves, white pants and black boots completing his look. His ragged white cape was held by clips that displayed his affiliation with his master, Slade. All in all he looked just like his future self that he had battled so long ago minus the inverted color scheme, someone he had promised to never become. Technically, he upheld that promise. His future self was a fusion of Vlad and his ghost half, something he was not. His future self also committed atrocities for the fun of it whereas he did everything for his sister, even if most of it was morally questionable. If possible he would have liked to have remained a hero but as he was forced to a saddening realization, being a hero didn't pay. Heroes were expected to do everything for free because it was right thing to do. Their alter egos were used to sustain them. But he couldn't afford such luxuries.

The young halfa shook his head and cleared his head. He was due to arrive at his mentor's new hideout that had been recently established in a town called Jump City. Why Slade chose there he had no idea but he merely needed to return to his master's side since he had completed his training a few months early. With a sad sigh the halfa glanced around one more time, taking in the destruction of his former home town before blasting off into the cloudy sky.

It wasn't long before he arrived at Jump city. Though as he flew invisibly over the town he couldn't help but recall some of his time in the Ghost Zone. He had fought many of his usual enemies, namely Walker and Skulker, but they seemed far weaker than they used to be or rather he had simply gotten stronger. Though over time the fights decreased in frequency as each time he grew more and more ruthless, his time with Slade shining through. Then again, maybe it was the power gap that had emerged had continued to grow that had caused them to start avoiding him. That's not to say they stopped by any means as Skulker was still dead set upon having his pelt mounted on his wall and Walker was determined to bring him for 'breaking the rules'. He had at the end of his stay in the Zone gotten to the point his old enemies were no longer a challenge. It was like fighting the Box Ghost each time, with some minor difficulties. But that wasn't the most interesting thing to happen during his stay. No that honor belonged to his meeting with Clockwork.

The ancient ghost had confronted him while he was training. Danny had half a mind to rant to rave and complain to the ghost for not warning him about his parent's deaths. He wanted so much just to blast the ghost he had seen, still saw as a friend. The ghost had told him that things were the way they were supposed to be. That had things gone differently; Vlad would have eventually endangered the entire world with an asteroid that was made up of ectoranium. He told him that there was one timeline where he had succeeded in saving the world and even had a happy ending for a time. He got with Sam and Tucker became mayor of the Amity Park and he was renowned as a hero by the entire world and even invited to join the Justice League. And for a time things were fine and fairly peaceful aside from his regular battles with the ghosts of the Ghost Zone. That was until Vlad returned. Vlad, driven mad by his failures, his inability to have Maddie and his solitude, began to eradicate the Earth and Ghost Zone using the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire and was only stopped in a final battle where both Vlad and Danny had fought to the bitter end resulting in the destruction of not only Earth but the Ghost Zone as well. Such an outcome could not come to pass. There were other routes that he could have let happen but this one allowed for the most stable timeline, since Danny was neither truly a villain nor truly a hero.

Though, when Danny questioned about the changes to his ghostly appearance, Clockwork merely told him he would have ended up looking at least similar to his future self regardless since, physically, Dan was for the most part still Danny. Danny didn't hate how he looked but nor did he like it. His appearance was a constant reminder of what he could become should he lose himself to this dark world that he walked. His 'villainous' deeds were proof enough that he already walking a dangerous path but as long as it helped keep his sister safe and alive he would continue to walk this path as it was the only path he could currently take.

Having grown bored of flying around he made his way to the most likely place his mentor would place a base only to find ruins. That meant that the hideout had been compromised and that a secondary base was being used, so he made his way through various places he figured Slade might be. He ended up finding several empty bases that were probably backups but he eventually he found what he was looking for when he stumbled upon one that was up and running. Though the amount of commandos were much fewer than normal but he paid it no mind as he flew through the walls before coming to the 'command center' of the base and turned visible and tangible before attempting to access one of the consoles so as to get himself up to date on Slade's plans and on goings and any information he had about the city. However as he went to insert his password he found it to be invalid before trying again only for it to reject the password each time. As Daniel grew increasingly impatient he heard a cough before him only to see Wintergreen next to him.

Wintergreen was an old war buddy of Slade's when they were both in the military. He wore a simple white suit and gloves. His old age had left him mostly bald aside from grey hair lining the back and sides of his head leaving the majority it his head bald. But despite his old and frail looks he was still a very agile fighter. In fact Wintergreen had actually taught Slade how to fight and had been the man's trainer when they were stll in the military and was considered one of Slade's few trusted allies. He had been with Slade since the beginning of his carrier and Danny had learned a great deal about Slade through the older former soldier. Though now in his old age he instead chose to support Slade in anything he could that didn't involve fighting such as gathering intel and finances to acquiring the parts needed for the robotic commandos and creating their programming. The man also took it upon himself to fix Slade's meals or tea and later Danny's as well and even assisted in creating the halfa's training regimen that closely resembled the one had had Slade follow when they were both in the military.

"The password has been changed since your departure, Phantom." His stated with a withered and raspy voice. His hands clasped behind his back as he stood with his shoulders squared and at attention.

"Yeah, I noticed. I assume that's due to the ruins of the old base I found?" he asked earning a nod from the older man. "Anything I should be aware of?"

"Yes. Master Slade attempted to acquire the reluctant youth, Robin, as his newest apprentice. The youth turned on him and he and his team of friends took down the base. Then later he acquired a new, more willing apprentice. A young girl named Terra. She wields geo-kinetic powers and with Slade's help were able to overthrow the Teen Titans, the local super heroes of the town, or rather we thought so but they recently emerged and..." The older man paused as he pulled a remote from his pocket and pressed a button turning on one of the massive screens showing the current battle between a blond teenage girl, who Danny assumed was Terra, struggling and reluctant when a kill shot presented itself on a pinned shape shifting green teen in green and black spandex. However she was soon surrounded though he couldn't make out the words but that didn't matter to him. What did matter was the fact that she quickly redirected and launched the spiked boulder at Slade. It was then that the half ghost decided to go to his mentor before Wintergreen could finish updating him.

He rushed over to where the battle was taking place, having used the locator from the computer to pinpoint where they were. Soon he was underground just in time for lava to pour out of the walls that he instinctively moved away from as a vent of lava opened up behind directly behind him. However as he dodged the spout of molten rock his attention was attention as drawn over to the center of the chamber where a bright flash emitted and he covered his eyes only to see Slade on the ground in a daze when lava begin to fill the room. For a moment time seemed to stop as their eyes met. It was too late to try and save the man as time seemed to continue and the man was swallowed up by a wave of superheated rock with only his mask emerging before it slowly sunk into the lava. But that didn't stop him from flying over to his mentor in an attempt to save him.

"No..." He whispered as his hand started to shake in anger. His hand clenched as he grit his teeth and his eyes flared dark red in utter fury and rage at failing to loose yet another person he cared about. It didn't matter if the man was brutal and evil. The man had been there when no one else had and taught him so much. For two years they had known each other. The man had been like a second father to him and now? Now he was gone!

"No no no no no no." he said a bit louder as the walls and rock began to crumble around him before he turned to face the blond haired girl who seemed to be embracing that green skinned shape shifter. The group of teens had departed as soon as the green hero regrouped with them.

He landed a few feet away from Terra's shaking body as her eyes glowed bright gold as she struggled to control her powers and use them to stop the volcano from destroying the town. She seemed completely oblivious of his presence as she was so deep in concentration.

"You! You killed him. One of the only people that I had left! And! YOU! Killed him!" He seethed stalking toward the armored and bandaged teen with a snarl.

It was then that Terra realized someone else was there and cried out. "You need to leave! You need to leave before you get hurt!" she yelled before she released a strangled gasp as she was lifted up by her throat momentarily losing control of her powers causing the lava to rise significantly faster.

Danny tightened his grip as the girls eyes returned to their natural blue and looked into his glowing red in terror. Her fear spiked as she saw Slade's emblem pined on his chest causing her to grasp his wrist in an attempt to break free from his grip. But before Danny could do anything the girl let out a scream as she unleashed the last of her powers to quell the rising lava and in a bright flash of golden light the entire chamber was turned to smooth stone. When Danny could see again he noticed the girl was no longer struggling in his grasp and soon saw why as he saw not a blond haired girl in his grasp but a stone replica of her. Her features seemed to be locked in fear holding onto his wrist where he saw flakes of stone on his glove as if she tried to turn him into stone with her.

He let out a frustrated sigh as he went intangible and withdrew his hand. He was half tempted to shatter the girl's now stone body but he refrained and let out a shaky breath before flying out of the area. He flew around the city before for what felt like hours and it was getting late as the clouds that once littered the sky gave way to a clear starry night with a full moon. The street lights were on and the streets were devoid of Slade's robot commandos and the only sign of them ever having being there was the scattered damage and the dingy streets. The city looked almost peaceful if a bit desolate. He shook his head and sped off to the desert that was near the city and proceeded to vent his anger on the surrounding area until he felt spent. Once he felt he had cooled off enough he decided it was time to visit his comatose sister.

He sat in the chair next to her bed as his shoulder length shaggy dark hair hid the light stubble forming along his jaw line. He wore a white long sleeve shirt with an open dark buckle jacket resting behind him on the chair. He typically wore the overcoat with the collar up and a red scarf tied in a knot around his neck that once belonged to his mother and a pair of denim jeans. On his hands were black fingerless gloves exposing his calloused finger tips which were gently holding his unconscious sister's much smoother and smaller hand.

"Hey sis." He said quietly. His voice was a deep baritone that sounded similar to his alternate future self yet it clearly lacked the arrogance and malice that his held.

"I know it's been a while since I came to see you but I've been kinda busy. I needed to get stronger to make sure I can keep you safe and to, well you wouldn't approve of it but, I've also been using my powers to get money to keep you alive and well taken care of." He smiled sadly at that thought as he imagined Jazz scolding him for using his powers so selfishly but she was all he had left and he wasn't about to let her go.

"You would be so disappointed in me Jazz. I... I'm not the hero I used to be and I'm afraid that maybe I never can be again. For so long I helped people and for what? I tried to help people after the accident but all I got was a 'good job' or a 'keep up the good work'. Sure, the praise felt good but..." He shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Being a hero doesn't get you anything in life. It doesn't pay the bills or offer anything as compensation and I needed money. I couldn't just let them take you off of life support." He tightened his grip on the railing of the bed causing it to groan slightly in protest of his strength.

The beeping of the heart monitor keeping a smooth and even pace which slowly calmed Danny down. He stood up and stroked a hair from his sister's face sadly. She looked so peaceful lying there. It pained him to see her like this. So... so helpless. She had always been there for him. Sure she nagged him a lot and she was overprotective but he didn't care because it showed just how much she cared about him. He knew though when she woke that she would hate him, well maybe not hate, but at the very least be very disappointed in him. She would scold him and berate him how it was wrong to use his powers for self-gain. She would probably use the silent treatment on him until she felt he had been punished enough. Oh how he wished she would nag him about it, to be there for him. She was all that he had left. That damned girl, Terra, had killed Slade. He had spent two years with the man and learned so much from him. How could he not grow attached to the man? He shook his head and let out an angry yet sad sigh before letting go of his sister's hand and leaned over and pecked her forehead.

"Look at me. All those times you told me I could talk to you and I never took those chances and yet here I am when you can't even hear me." He gave a humorless laugh and shook his head.

"I'll be back. I have some things I need to... take care of." He said before he got up and put on his brown leather buckle overcoat. He left a few of Slade's robot commandos, no they were his now, a few of his commandos to guard the door lest Jazz wake he could be notified immediately. He would have Wintergreen check up on her periodically and have the man give him regular updates on her status. Danny would have to get the old butler something in gratitude for moving Jazz and her medical equipment before the base she was in exploded. He would also have to give the commandos a new look since they would be under his command. He walked through the new base he was in the process of creating since all of Slade's old hideouts had initiated a self-destruct protocol with his death to prevent anything from being taken from them. The blasts had leveled a few city blocks scattered around the city but no one would really be the wiser with all the commotion that had been going on during Slade's brief reign of terror.

* * *

Meanwhile at the cavern, the Teen Titans made their way back to pay their respects to Terra. Beast Boy was in front and the first one to see Terra only to feel something amiss. He didn't know what it was but when he saw the pose Terra was in he stopped in his tracks as the fear in her eyes was clearly visible despite the fact that she was stone and she seemed to be grasping at the air as if she were holding something away from her neck.

Starfire gasped as she dropped the roses she had been carrying and Robin narrowed his eyes. He knew something was wrong. Something must have happened after they left, but what?

"Dude... What? What could have? Why is she?" Beast Boy muttered in confusion and sadness. He couldn't understand what he was seeing and he wasn't the only one.

Raven could feel a residual sensation of fear that radiated from the stone form of Terra and for some reason she could feel intense anger but the emotion didn't emanate from the girl she had once called friend.

"Something must have happened after we escaped." She said evenly as she glanced at Robin hoping he might be able to find any clues as to what happened.

"But what? We were the only ones here? Who could of... No. No it isn't possible is it?" the Boy Wonder gnashed his teeth at such a thought. But it was impossible. Such an idea was utterly and completely impossible. Yet it was the only explanation right? But he saw Slade be engulfed by the lava before he and his friends had to flee. He paused as he also remembered briefly seeing a vague figure fly towards the masked villain as if trying to save him before it vanished. Could whatever that was been the one responsible?

He tossed the idea aside, filing it away for later investigation for now, before presenting the plaque and placing it under her stone form and Starfire picked up the roses and sadly placed them at Terra's feet. They turned to leave, baffled and slightly unnerved by what they saw, but Beast Boy remained unmoving until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find out a way to reverse the process and what happened to her after we escaped. I promise." Robin said before leading Beast Boy out of the cavern. Though Robin spared one final glance back at their former teammate before exiting the cave.

* * *

Danny walked tiredly through the now busy streets. It had been a week or so since Slade's defeat and he hadn't slept much if at all as he had been looking around town for a job to make have some type of legitimate income. He refused to use the money he had stolen as that was used solely to fund his sister's private doctors and keep her alive as well as fund ways to look for how to wake her up out of her coma faster. He was had also been looking around and scouting out places he could steal from and checking out how guarded some banks were versus others and other important factors like how close they were to the Teen Titans' tower. So far he had noticed that the further away the banks were from the Tower the more guards and security they had. Not that any of it really mattered since most of the security ranged form, guards to multiple vaults doors, complex trip laser systems to automated turret etc. However none thus far had anything that could keep him out. He turned down a street where it was less crowded before he came to what looked like an open field with a large and long white stone four story building with several windows littering the wall every couple feet.

He glanced around to see he was near a shed. It looked fairly worn down with a simple padlock keeping it closed which he ignored. The shed was decently sized and had a faded bullfrog in a manly man fighting pose and a tilted top hat and a smirk on the door. The image made him chuckle and walked around to the side only to narrow his eyes at what he saw before he grinned. Along the wall were what looked like large pads used for lining gym walls. They were for the most part still in fairly good shape and surprisingly clean despite being outside. He shrugged before he arranged some of the padding to make a makeshift bed of sorts.

 _'What better place to take a quick nap. Not like I haven't done it before, right?'_ Danny though with a tired sigh before he took off his buckle jacket, folded it up to use it as a pillow when he plopped down on the mat.

As he lay there with his eyes closed he idle let one arm lay limply over the edge of the mats as he ran his fingers through the lush green blades of grass as his tired mind mulled over all he had contemplated everything that had happened during his absence for the past three years, particularly what Slade had worked on and done. Nothing his deceased mentor did made any real sense to him and none of the motives or actions added up. What had Slade sought to accomplish? If he had wanted the destruction of the Titans he had passed up a golden chance when he forced Robin as his apprentice. Or why he took Terra as his apprentice and used her to spy on the titans. Daniel knew he would be unable to figure out the enigmatic man that had been his mentor. If only he could ask Jazz. She would be able to psychoanalyze the man and at least have an idea of what the man had been after. Though it wasn't long before his thoughts ran blank and he slipped into unconsciousness that was sleep with his final thought being the question of what he would do about these Teen Titans.

* * *

So for any of you who are interested in taking a crack at this monster, here are the guidelines.:

First and foremost Danny can not join the Teen Titans. Not fully anyway. He can be made to be an anti-hero at best who might help them on occasion if the threat is big enough.*cough*trigon*cough*

Don't follow Teen Titans canon word for word.*that's boring, change things up a bit*

Jazz must eventually come out of her coma.

Sam and Tucker can make an appearance if you desire but they would be distant from Danny due to not really seeing him in 3 years with no contact.

Vlad can join up with Danny and be a mentor or partner in crime as they no longer have a need to be enemies.

Danny can not become Red X.

The GiW can not become an antagonist for Danny.

Danny can not change his appearance...Unless you absolute must and feel that I made him look lame*cough*human outfit by Krossan's human Dan*cough*look it up*cough*

Dash and Paulina(or all of the a-listers) should show up at some point *I kinda set that ending up just for that. Go Jump City Bull Frogs!*

Valerie can show up as the red huntress and join the Titans.

Also for any pairings, the following are available:

Ember

Jinx

Desiree

Blackfire


	2. Chapter 2

Clockwork let out a tired sigh as he the screen he had been using to watch over the young halfa faded to black before a new image popped up of an equally aged Daniel that appeared happy and playing with a young black haired little girl in a park while a much older Sam Manson watched them from a bench, a smile on her face as she caressed her slightly protruding stomach. The image once again changed focusing once more on young Daniel as did many of the screens in the room as they changed between the various timelines that existed. It was times like this Clockwork felt the burden of his duty as timekeeper, to watch over all versions of the time streams with only a small handful having needed his direct or indirect interference. Thankfully there were only 1300 timelines that existed instead of the infinite amount some believed existed making his job infinitely easier.

His musing was stopped interrupted by clanking and banging. He knew what was happening and floated over to the thermos and reversed the time on it repairing the damage done to it by the entity inside. Eventually though, he knew the thermos would break eventually even with all of his power to prevent it and Danny would be forced to face himself once more. Though this time he knew when that time came Daniel would be prepared and strong enough to beat the monster he could have become once and for all.

* * *

Danny frowned as his eyes fluttered open as he awoke from his dreamless nap. The sun was still out and blazing brightly in the afternoon sky and deciding it was time to get a move on he got up adjusting his clothes and fixing his hair back into a ponytail before he stretched to remove the kinks out of his back.

Once he was all set Danny made for the gate that led to the front of the school. He didn't know what he was going to do yet as he walked down the busy street with no particular destination in mind. He slowed to a stop as he heard the distinct sound of a bank alarm and faded into invisibility and intangibility as he moved through the now panicked crowd of people trying to get away. He transformed into his alter ego and flew into the air as he saw a pink haired goth with pale gray skin launching what looked like a form of pink magic at the guards before she hollered over her shoulder, probably telling her partners to hurry it up but he wasn't sure. It was then that the inevitable happened when the Titans showed up preceded by a green star bolt that the goth just barely avoided only to be hit with the after effects of debris and launching her into the street where she was confronted by the team of super teen heroes.

He couldn't hear what was being said but he really didn't care as it was obvious that the Titans were busy making witty banter with the convict. It wasn't long until they were doing battle with a the girl's comrades, a hulking giant of a man with a long mane of hair and incredible strength and a small child with a ridiculous mechanical spider-legged backpack but the trio seemed to do well against the Titans for a time but eventually the Titans won out with their larger numbers and better team work. It was as the trio of was being round up that Daniel decided to take advantage of the situation and flew into the bank and proceeded to pick it clean of cash and anything of value before fleeing the bank to Slade's, no, it was his hideout now. He wondered briefly if the Titans would even bother checking the back afterwards but threw the thought from his mind as he didn't care. It wasn't like they would be able to track him. His previous thoughts of a legitimate income were no longer on his mind as a job would eventually only get in the way of his goals of reviving his sister. He couldn't let anything stop him from his goal. When he arrived back in the lair he was again greeted by Wintergreen.

"Sir." The older man greeted politely before motioning to the large sacks of gold, money and other things of value that Daniel had grabbed.

The halfa nodded back to the man and let the bags drop to the ground before he followed his master's mentor to a large room filled with computers and several screens. He glanced at the older man who only tilted his head at the throne that had once seated Slade and hesitated.

"Sir, with Master Slade gone it is only right you take his place as he would have wanted. It was what he trained you for."

With that final prod Daniel, still in his ghost form, nodded and made his way to the stone throne. He stopped just in front of it as he was reminded the last time he stood in a similar position. It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory but it wasn't awful either. He had been kneeling down before Slade requesting time to train in the Ghost Zone with the looming threat of punishment through his sister if he didn't return when promised.

"Master, I have learned so much from you but I can't help but feel I am lacking experience. If you were to allow me to put your training to use in live combat in the Ghost Zone I could grow even more." He had spoken confidently and without any hint of fear. To do so would guarantee that he would be denied and was yet another lesson Slade had taught him. Always be confident but not overly so or see yourself fail. Be assertive as to show fear would give your enemy ground. Be ruthless as mercy allowed your enemy to come back stronger. It was these rules that he had learned to follow or suffer the consequences. It didn't help that he was not allowed to use his ghost powers when he trained but after the first time he questioned and after a rather brutal sparring session he never asked again. Though he never had to ask again as Slade had, after beating him ruthlessly into the ground, told him.

"Do you see now, apprentice? By making you train your body and mind you grow stronger without needing your powers. Most supers, be they hero or otherwise, tend to grow complacent and rely on their powers to see them through. But what happens when you take those powers away? They become just like everyone else. Pathetic and weak! But now, should you ever find yourself unable to use your powers, you have the ability to continue fighting back. That is why I forbade your use of your powers while you train. Now get up! We still have an hour left of your punishment left. But I am willing to be lenient and allow you to remove 5 minutes for ever successful hit you land on me."

Of course Slade showed he was a man of his word and removed a full ten minutes off their sparring match.

Daniel took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He banished his hesitation and took a final steeling breath and opened his red eyes glowing with determination and proceeded to the throne and sat down with a fierce look. He glanced at the key pad on the arm and entered a key combination causing all of the screens in the hideout to flicker to life displaying various locations throughout Jump City. There were even a few that displayed inside of Titans Tower causing a menacing smirk to grace Daniel's face.

He leaned forward as he watched the Titan's in their lobby; Cyborg and Beast Boy were on the couch taking turns playing some kind of game on a rather large tv screen. The Tamaranean, Starfire he told himself, was devouring...Was that mustard?! Danny shook his head at that and a face of disgust and disbelief at the thought of devouring the condiment from the bottle. He shook his head a bit at that. He next saw their sorceress, Raven, sipping tea as she looked out the large windows that overlooked the city off in the corner. Then finally in the corner on the main computer was robin. He seemed completely focused on the screen before him and after switching to a different camera view he was able to see it was security footage from the bank that he had robbed while the titans had been busy fighting the villainous trio.

A pang of jealousy shot through him as he thought of how carefree they all seemed. They were the heroes. They knew the hardships of the world yet they were able to continue to march on, but then again they didn't have someone close to them to protect aside from each other that he was aware of. They were like a band of misfits who found common ground amoung one another. They didn't need family becuase they had one amoungst themselves. Though perhaps what bothered him the most about them was that they had what he didn't. But then isn't how it always went? People always wanting and envying what they dont have.

Danny sighed as he leaned back in his throne and like his master before him began to plot. He steepled his fingers in front of his face as he contemplated ways he could go about things. Should he don his master's uniform and psyche them out? No. Robin would notice any subtle differences and know he wasn't the real Slade... but doing so could buy him some time. Robin might also fly into a rage or panic at the sudden appearance of his arch nemesis still alive and well before calming down enough to realize he was a copycat. But then again, Robin wasn't Batman and Danny felt he was a decent actor. He had spent well over a year with Slade and felt he could imitate him well enough to throw Robin for a loop long enough to get what he needed to get done, done. A small part of it might also have been the slight childish fun loving Danny he used to be just wanted to don the mask that he had thought looked 'cool' and wanting to mess with the Titans. The idea also had far more merit than just going around robbing bank after bank, hospital after hospital leaving false clues and trails and was more likely to buy him more time before being exposed.

The halfa glanced at Wintergreen, his decision all but made.

"Wintergreen, prepare the commandos I have a mission for them." He said as he stood from the throne. The older man nodded briefly and made off to take care of the cybernetic minions.

Daniel however made his way towards Slade's personal armory in the base. It was easy to find and soon he came upon a large bulkhead door. He took a steadying breath as he removed the glove off his right hand and placed it upon the scanner and walked through the door after it opened with a hiss. Inside there was a multitude of weapons, ranging from simple small arms to ballistics on one wall and a wide range of melee weapons from a small dagger to a pole arm and everything in between, but they were not what he needed nor what he came for. Thus he made his way to a cylindrical display case that sat in the center of the room which held Slade's outfit sealed within. It was only one of many though as there were multiple spares in the drawers beneath the case. Once again he placed his bare hand upon a scanner and the case hissed open, the glass sliding upwards into the ceiling. He slowly pulled the helmet down off the mannequin and looked into the single empty eye hole. The smooth cold copper and black mask felt strange as he held it though far lighter than he expected, he closed his eyes as he set the mask down and proceeded to pull the bodysuit from the stand and slowly began to change into the tough and durable material, equipping the many silver armor pads until finally, when he was fully dressed he picked the mask up, his hands shaky as he did. Danny looked into the single eye and set the mask down so it was facing him and to give him a moment to clear his head. Though he felt as if the mask was calling to him and reached over and softly stroked the black portion of the mask that would leave him devoid of one eye, a sign of Slade's arrogance and skill to be able to function with only one eye and remain one of the best fighters and assassins in the world. He would need to modify the mask so that he had means to see out of the blind spot while retaining the mask's original look so as to not give himself away to quickly as he was not so arrogant to believe he could function with only one eye.

 _'I'll talk to Wintergreen and have him alter the mask later.'_ he thought as he picked the mask back up bringing the mask to eye level. He glanced at the inside of the helmet and with a a held breath pulled it towards his flaming head and felt the mask settle into place seamlessly with the suit. Danny felt a slight thrill at wearing his masters mask and outfit and smirked behind the mask though it fell when he remembered that he was only wearing it because Slade was dead, killed by Terra and the Titans. Clenching his fists he turned heel and left he armory and quickly tracked down Wintergreen who was busy preparing the robotic commandos in another large room.

"Good, the commandos are ready." Danny said causing the elderly man to jump due to Danny's silent approach.

Wintergreen quickly spun around to greet Danny, but his eyes widened at the sight of his dead student turned master instead, though he quickly realized that the man before him wasn't Slade but was in fact Daniel. Though at first glance it was easy to mistake the two as they both had similar builds and they both held themselves in the same way but there were subtle differences, small tells that Slade had that Daniel didn't and vice versa. It also didn't help that their voices, while both deep and menacing, were vastly different in their inflection and demeanor. Daniel's voice held an uncaring cold indifference to it while Slade's was calm, cool and calculated with a hint of an edge to it. It would be something they would have to rectify before 'Slade' made his return.

"Yes sir. They are all here and accounted for, ready for their orders." he answered with a nod and stepped aside so that Danny could over look the commandos, what remained after the failed take over of the city. Where as before the sixty commandos would have been but a mere handful amoungst hundreds, were all that remained of Slade's small army.

Danny peered out, slightly disoriented from the lack of depth perception and availability of only one eye and grimaced at the meager ammount of commandos. He could have more built but he first needed to gather more information on Slade's operations and how to act more like his former master in general. Thus he would have to wait before he made a public appearance

He closed his eyes and willed his head clear of the multiple thoughts in his head, before he once more glanced over the robotic servants and addressed them.

"Your goal is simple, a third of you will head out to the prison and free as many inmates as you can with out getting caught. Your main targets will be the Hive trio, Plasmus, Cinderblock and Overload. The second group, your goal is to set bombs throughout the city's sewer system. The final team, your job is to infiltrate Wayne Industries and download the latest blue prints. Above all that, you are to avoid capture by any and all means. If you can, avoid being spotted at all costs, if you are, take out the witnesses and if that fails, abort mission. That goes for all of you. Move out!"

With his orders given and received the Commandos vanished from the room to carry out their respective missions. Danny finally let out a sigh and desperately wanted to remove the mask from his face but forced himself to keep in on.

"Wintergreen, I need you to modify the masks so that I can utilize both my eyes but retain the mask's look."

"Of course, sir. I'll start on that right away." The elderly man replied and quickly left the room. Danny left the now empty room and made for Slade's... for his throne.

 _'This is going to take time getting used to.'_ he thought with a hint of annoyance as he relaxed in the stone chair that overlooked the many screens that lined the opposite wall and began to mimic his master in more ways than one as he mulled over his plans as he watched the Titans enjoying their downtime and each others company.


End file.
